Protection of Prisoners of War: The Third Geneva Convention and Prospective Issues

Apart from wounds and sickness, a prisoner of war, who is at the mercy of the detaining belligerent, may face humiliation and be subjected to many deprivations and hardships. Separated from their families and in the power of hostile authorities, prisoners of war often live in extremely difficult circumstances, exposed to uncertainty, anxiety, tension and maltreatment. This book explores the legal protections available to prisoners of war in an international armed conflict. It also critically evaluates the challenges in protecting prisoners of war in future warfare where autonomous weapon systems are likely to be deployed.

This book will be of interest to military and paramilitary forces, security specialists and policymakers, lawyers and academicians, and members of the civil society who have a stake in international law.

Dr U C Jha, a former Wing Commander, has extensive field and academic experience in international humanitarian law, military law and human rights law. His work comprises 25 books and over 120 articles published in various journals and newspapers. His recent books include, Biological Weapons; The Evolution of Military law in India; Ethics in the Indian Military; Killer Robots: Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems: Legal, Ethical and Moral Challenges; Human Rights in the Indian Armed Forces: An Analysis of Article 33 of the Constitution; The Law of Armed Conflict; and Child Soldiers: Practice, Law and Remedies.

Sanghamitra Choudhury was an Agatha Harrison Post-Doctoral Senior Fellow at the University of Oxford, Charles Wallace Fellow at Queen's University, Belfast, UN International Law Fellow at Hague Academy of International Law- Netherland and presently Assistant Professor in Sikkim University, India.